A filler installation generally comprises a stationary structure having a platform pivotally mounted thereon and carrying both filler spouts and receptacle supports vertically beneath the filler spouts. While a receptacle is being filled with a viscous substance, when the viscous substance starts to flow, an accumulation of substance in the form of a bulb tends to form at the outlet of the filler spout, the bulb presenting transverse dimensions that are often greater than those of the neck of the receptacle. There is thus a risk of the substance flowing over the outside the receptacle.
To remedy that drawback, installations for filling by volume are known in which the support members are movable relative to the filler spout between a high position for filling in which the filler spouts are engaged in the receptacles, and a low position for on-loading and off-loading the receptacles, in which the filler spouts are disengaged from the receptacles. The support members are moved between the high and low positions and they are held in said positions by a cam that is secured to the stationary structure.
Nevertheless, that solution is not suitable in installations for filling by weight in which the support members form parts of weighing devices and are connected to weighing members. The support members must transfer to the weighing member the forces that are exerted on them by the receptacles while they are being filled. In order to perform this function, the support members must not be locked in position as in installations for filling by volume, where it is the cam that supports the force exerted on the support member by the receptacle.